Dillon Battie threw home a windmill dunk against Florida Atlantic that nearly blew the roof off of Koch Arena.
“I got whatever y’all like to see,” Battie said with a smile when asked if he had more contest-caliber slams still in his bag.
TJ Williams crashed for rebounds with enough force against Temple that referees told him to cool it.
In short, Wichita State’s forward duo is making plays down the stretch of the season not typically reserved for underclassmen.
“A lot of this now is our (forwards) being able to make decisions,” head coach Paul Mills said. “We’ve been able to make strides there.”
The Shockers, with Battie and Williams’ strides made this season, enter Saturday’s 4 p.m. semifinals game at the American Conference Championship as the No. 2 seed with a six-game winning streak.
But Battie’s rising play didn’t happen overnight.
Since the beginning of workouts over the summer, he’s been the first to show up at film and weight room sessions. Battie was never afraid to ask questions and even came to Mills with a list of them to better understand how he could impact games and winning.
Those small habits have finally built a bigger role.
“With Dillon, since the summer, I saw how much he was in the gym,” senior guard Kenyon Giles said. “I knew this day was going to come. It was just a matter of when.”
Battie averaged just 3.3 points and 10.2 minutes per game during the Shockers’ first 16 games this year and didn’t see the court against Boise State and at the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas. But over the last 15, Battie has averaged 21.5 minutes and 9.8 points a contest.
Battie, a 6-foot-8 sophomore, concluded the regular season last Saturday with a career-high 22 points, 12 rebounds, two assists, two steals and finished plus-20 in the offensive plus/minus.
A lot of his growth isn’t about his raw athleticism. It’s about how he’s played under control. Instead of flying into the paint and forcing a low-percentage shot, Battie has played off of two feet and has looked for an open look or teammate to dish it to.
“That’s a big deal, especially for the conference we’re in,” senior forward Karon Boyd said. “We have a lot of bigs who like to lean into shot-blocking, and they find joy in that.
“So, you know they’re going to jump for everything. Playing off two (feet), shot faking, getting them in the air. He’s (Battie) definitely finding ways to capitalize without creating turnovers or just horrible shots.”
While Battie has played off of two feet to create better scoring looks, Williams unlocked a new layer to his game after recovering from a concussion the 6-foot-4 redshirt freshman sustained earlier this season against Rice that he said left him “timid.”
Timidness showed in the box score for a nine-game stretch when Williams averaged just 4.4 points and 3.7 rebounds per contest. But over the last five, Williams has averaged 13.4 points and 5.8 rebounds to go along with 77% (17-of-22) free throw shooting.
Mills credited wins against East Carolina and Philadelphia’s Owls to contributions made by Williams. That’s when he dropped a career-high 27 points against the Pirates and was told to stop bullying his way to rebounds the following game against Temple.
“Having my big bros behind me, being the youngest on the court every game,” Williams said, “(and) having those guys behind me giving me that confidence is a big help.”
Williams has tapped into the skillset that helped him earn the Kansas Boys Basketball Gatorade Player of the Year as a senior coming out of Wichita Heights High School.
He played guard for the Falcons and has had to make the switch to forward since attending Wichita State. But that hasn’t stopped him from controlling the pace after grabbing rebounds.
“When I’m out there, we got four guys that can bring the ball up confidently,” Williams said. “We don’t need one person or two people to come get the ball.
“The position I’m in, I’m able to rebound and get a lot of them throughout the game. If I don’t get them, I’m right there next to the big, who usually does get them, so they can just outlet it to me. Then, I can push the ball.”
Now, the stage is at its brightest for the Shockers’ rising stars. Their recent contributions will certainly be tested around 4 p.m. Saturday at Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Ala.
